Being a programmer for NZIFF I'm lucky enough to have seen a good portion of the selection already. A lot of my picks were my favourites from Berlin earlier this year. Standouts include the nail-biting Georgian political thriller Hostages and the wry Indian satire Newton, plus Brazilian whatsit Don't Swallow My Heart, Alligator Girl! which is as wacky and wild as its title. There is a brace of hot new titles from SE Asia; teen thriller Bad Genius from Thailand and the feminist revenge 'western' Marlina the Murderer from Indonesia. The epic Bangkok Nites, made in SE Asia by a Japanese director, is a stylish and stirring discovery, while Tony Conrad delivers a fun and carefree portrait of a great artist/musician who deserves to be better known. Finally I'm looking forward to catching up on a number of Cannes titles including The Square, A Gentle Creature, The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Faces Places.
Films — by Collection
- At the Movies: Bill Gosden and Simon Morris
- Bill Gosden’s Guide to NZIFF 2017
- Coup De Main
- Letterboxd
- Metro: David Larsen
- Staff Picks: Abby Cattermole
- Staff Picks: Alice Vilardel
- Staff Picks: Ant Timpson
- Staff Picks: Beck Eleven
- Staff Picks: Hedda ten Holder
- Staff Picks: Ina Kinski
- Staff Picks: Jo Scott
- Staff Picks: Kailey Carruthers
- Staff Picks: Kezia Dwyer
- Staff Picks: Manali Bhatia
- Staff Picks: Michael McDonnell
- Staff Picks: Miles Chan
- Staff Picks: Nick Paris
- Staff Picks: Rebecca McMillan
- Staff Picks: Sandra Reid
- Staff Picks: Tim Keats
- Staff Picks: Tim Wong
- The Residents: Lucy Revill
- Wellington Film Society
Staff Picks: Michael McDonnell
Bill Direen: A Memory of Others
Filmmaker Simon Ogston hits the road with NZ writer, poet, indie rocker Bill Direen as he explores the cultural landscape and presents a series of strikingly diverse live performances.
Dealt
Winner of an Audience Award at SXSW, this fascinating feel-good doco introduces us to blind card magician Richard Turner, who learns a few new tricks as he comes to terms with visual impairment.
Newton
In this wry tragicomedy, a rookie government clerk finds himself entrusted with a task that appears deceptively simple: collecting 76 votes in a remote village in the jungle of central India.
Wind River
Rookie FBI agent Elizabeth Olsen teams with her Avengers co-star Jeremy Renner to investigate a mysterious death on an Indian reservation in this atmospheric western thriller directed by gun screenwriter Taylor Sheridan.